Tag: GWR

Today is Guinness World Records Day – the fourteenth year of the annual celebration which commemorates the 8th of November, when Guinness World Records became a bestselling book in 2004. The GWR Day aims to inspire people to discover their true potential and attempt record-breaking activities around the globe. It unites people across the planet from all walks of life, to work towards a common goal – to be officially amazing! And bask in how officially amazing you are, once you do break that record.

There are myriad ways to get involved in the day’s celebrations. One can attempt a Guinness World Records title – the website provides guidelines on how to apply, prepare for, and attempt your record-breaking initiative. If you already have a GWR title and are listed in the record books, share your activity with the world. Aside of the individual title holders, there are mass participation categories as well – the largest number of people attempting any given endeavor. Browse through the GWR website and see if you can gather a larger group to break someone else’s record.

I have three GWR certificates to my name:

The first was for the most people holding the abdominal plank position for a minute. That’s not too long for planking, but the challenge required every individual to stay up for a minute – which comprised 1,623 of us in the mass gathering. Any one who dropped before a minute was up, or started after the timer began, was omitted from the final count. We achieved our official record in the second attempt. (GWR gives you three attempts.) The event was organized by the sporting giant Puma, and only women were allowed to participate. Though the GWR certificate does not specify “women”, the aim of the record-breaking event was to highlight the importance of women’s health. Oh, and we received Puma tees too!

My second “officially amazing” certificate was for the largest gathering of people performing Zumba in capes. (Yes, you can aim for a record in just about anything. Provided the GWR officials authenticate your attempt as an actual record not achieved by anyone else before you.) The beverage company Tetley had organized this dance bonanza – a total of 1,335 people dancing Zumba for ninety minutes, with capes (so you feel like a superhero after breaking the record.) And we got tea here. Lots of it in various flavors!

The third record-breaking event I was part of was the largest drum circle. Organized by The Drum Cafe, the drumming festival had a large number of people playing the djembe in unison for about fifteen minutes. At a total count of 2,100 participants, the drumming company even provided drums to each of us. All we got here was the drum, which had to be returned post the event.

I haven’t thought about breaking any record in the individual category, but these mass participation events have been fun. It is always a pleasure to connect with like-minded people, and when a record is being attempted, you find even more from your tribe. Guinness has provided a list of fun activities to try out at home, using everyday household objects. If attempting official records is not your thing, you can test your skills on challenges provided on the GWR website. Follow the instructions on their page – there’s a leaderboard and everything so you can track your scores and compare how you fared against people from around the globe. Fun stuff!

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